Cardinals Lose Sunday to Weather, Turn Page Toward Milwaukee

The Cardinal Chronicle
Cardinals Lose Sunday to Weather, Turn Page Toward Milwaukee
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals never got a chance to finish their weekend business in Cincinnati.

Sunday’s series finale between the Cardinals and Reds at Great American Ball Park was postponed because of inclement weather, ending a choppy, rain-dominated weekend that had already forced Friday’s opener into a Saturday split doubleheader. The postponed game will be made up Aug. 17 as part of a split doubleheader in Cincinnati.

For the Cardinals, it left the weekend feeling unfinished. St. Louis won the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, 8-1, before dropping the nightcap, 7-6, in 11 innings. Instead of getting a chance to take the series Sunday, the Cardinals packed up and moved on with one win, one loss, and one more game pushed deep into the summer schedule.

The rainout also delayed what had shaped up as an important pitching day. Left-hander Brycen Mautz was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, while right-handers Matt Svanson and Ryan Fernandez were optioned back to Memphis. Mautz’s arrival gave the Cardinals another left-handed option as the club worked through a weather-disrupted pitching plan, but the postponement left those plans unsettled heading into the next series.

The roster moves were notable. Svanson’s option comes after continued bullpen struggles, while Fernandez was returned to Memphis after being used as part of the weekend’s doubleheader roster shuffle. Mautz, meanwhile, remains the fresh arm in the picture as St. Louis tries to reset after a stop-and-start trip through Cincinnati.

Now the Cardinals move straight into another important National League Central test. St. Louis opens a three-game series Monday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, with Matthew Liberatore scheduled to face Jacob Misiorowski in the opener. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Central, with the game scheduled on Cardinals.TV and Brewers.TV.

The timing matters. The Cardinals leave Cincinnati having lost three of their last four games, while Milwaukee sits ahead of them in the division race. With the calendar reaching Memorial Day, the standings are beginning to carry a little more weight, even if there is still a long road ahead.

Sunday did not produce a box score, a late-inning decision, or a player of the game. But it still changed the week ahead. The Cardinals lost a chance to settle the Cincinnati series on the field, gained another August doubleheader, and now head into Milwaukee needing to steady themselves against the club currently setting the pace in the division.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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